Soyo-chan, Version 2.0—Courtesy of Me! [160]

Thanks to Kasumi-senpai’s help, Soyo easily ended up sitting in the corner with Taki, stealing a moment of leisure while Taki was technically still on the clock.

But once they sat down, they both started cosplaying Wakaba Mutsumi—competing to see who could speak less.

“…Taki, you—”

“Is Sakuyo there?”

“...Huh?”

Soyo hadn’t expected that.

After all that silence, Taki’s first words were that?

Wasn’t she supposed to grab her by the collar and start interrogating her?

Crap.

A sudden panic rose in Soyo’s chest, reminding her of the terrifying nightmare she had woken up from this morning.

Could it be that her only purpose from now on… was to be a Sakuyo activation switch?

“I want to talk to her. I feel like this is something I have to tell her.”

“…Can’t you just talk to me?”

“…Sorry.”

Taki frowned, hesitating for a moment.

The more she thought about it, the more she felt like this situation was beyond her.

If she told Soyo about her dreams, she knew how Soyo would react.

Soyo would absolutely freak out.

But if she told Sakuyo instead, she’d get solid advice and reassurance.

Besides, Soyo was clearly in a fragile state right now—just look at how she had come in apologizing over and over, practically begging to be scolded.

Did she have some kind of self-punishment kink?

Actually, thinking back… hadn’t Soyo literally asked her to insult her more before?

And now she wasn’t even trying to set it up—just skipping straight to "please yell at me."

This… this condition seemed to be getting worse.

“…Fine.”

Soyo rolled her eyes, agreeing with obvious reluctance.

Pretending to be her own second personality was so exhausting.

But if it meant preventing the band from falling apart because of her, she had no choice.

She closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, her voice had already shifted.

“…Go on. What is it?”

“I had another dream last night. About what happens after that other dream—about how our band breaks up.”

“…What?!”

“……You’re still Soyo, aren’t you?”

“……”

Damn it!

When did Shiina Taki get this sharp?!

No, wait—if she were truly smart, she wouldn’t believe in the whole "split personality" thing in the first place.

Which meant… Taki was still an idiot.

Just… one that only let herself get tricked when it came to Chihiro.

Chihiro, save me!

“She—she’s not available right now…”

Soyo forced a stiff smile, pressing her palms together in a pleading gesture.

“So, Taki, can you just tell me what you dreamed about?”

“…Sorry, Soyo.”

Taki shook her head firmly.

“There are some things I can’t let you know.”

“…Wait, why does it feel like you’re treating me like a child?”

Soyo rolled her eyes again.

It felt like she was Taki and Chihiro’s kid or something.

Taki’s tone just now practically screamed, "The adults are talking. Stay out of it, kid."

“Soyo, you’re just you. You don’t need to force yourself to copy Sakuyo’s voice.”

“……”

I’m pissed.

I’m seriously pissed.

Had Chihiro completely stolen her right to speak in her natural voice now?

Why was it that her normal voice was considered a bad impression of Chihiro?

Shouldn’t it be Chihiro imitating her?!

“Raana, stop pulling! I said I’d come with you, didn’t I?”

“You’re not a good sister anymore.”

“Huh…? I’m not that bad, am I?”

Hmm? That voice…

Soyo hadn’t even turned around yet.

But across from her, Taki had already noticed the two figures who had made their way up to RiNG’s second floor.

“…Why is Raana here? And the person next to her… Wait, is that her sister, Tsuzuki?”

“Who?”

“Tsuzuki Chihiro… That’s her name, right?”

Taki suddenly remembered that Soyo seemed to know Chihiro.

But considering how unpleasant that phone call between them had been after the live, Taki frowned and offered some heartfelt advice:

“That woman doesn’t seem very sincere. You should keep your distance from her, Soyo.”

“……”

I should keep my distance from YOU.

But when Soyo finally turned around, she immediately caught Chihiro’s gaze.

And in her usual fashion, Chihiro’s eyes held a teasing glint.

It wasn’t exactly a serious look, but for some reason, just knowing that the person looking at her was Chihiro made Soyo feel… strangely at ease.

Still… what were Chihiro and Raana doing here?

Judging by Rana’s expression and movements, Soyo could piece things together.

Most likely, someone had ditched her little sister to come see Soyo, only for that little sister to hunt her down.

And Chihiro—ever the doting sibling—knew she was in the wrong.

So, she let herself be dragged along like a lifeless doll all the way to RiNG.

“…Hey, Taki?”

“Mm?”

“I need to use the restroom. Wait for me a sec?”

“Sure.”

Taki nodded, not thinking much of it.

Though, she was curious about why Raana had shown up.

But then again, noraneko was unpredictable.

The only thing she could assume was that Raana probably came here to play guitar.

And most likely, she wanted to drag her sister into it too.

Why now, though?

Were things not exciting enough at home? Did they need professional sound equipment to show off?

But still… Raana hadn’t shown up in a while.

Maybe she should take this chance to figure out what the little noraneko was really thinking.

Ugh, what a headache.

The only thing that struck her as odd was that, as Soyo passed by the two sisters, she hesitated for a brief moment—exchanging a few quiet words with Chihiro.

Chihiro then chuckled and said something to Raana before casually following Soyo’s lead toward the restroom.

"Soyo has terrible taste in friends! I told her Tsuzuki wasn’t a good person—why won’t she listen?!"

Taki almost wanted to chase after them.

But she didn’t want to push Soyo too hard, so she ultimately stayed put.

---

Inside RiNG’s women’s restroom, Chihiro leaned smugly against the sink, arms crossed, looking every bit like she owned the place.

After making sure they were alone, she casually reached back and shut the door, locking Soyo in with her.

Then, smirking, she said:

"So, let me guess. You want me to switch places with you, don’t you?"

"More or less… Chihiro, you—"

"You have to be kidding me, you little widow."

“D-Don’t call me that in here!”

Chihiro waved a hand dismissively, acting like she had already won.

"How was I supposed to know you’d be here today? I’m not Doraemon—I don’t carry disguise tools with me. How exactly do you expect me to transform into you right now?"

"But…"

"Tsk tsk."

Chihiro wagged a finger at her, then pulled out her phone and scrolled through a list of unread messages she had sent Soyo that day.

"I sent you so many messages today. You didn’t respond to any of them. Given last night, I figured you were giving me the silent treatment."

"So… what the hell is this?"

"I mean… you can’t just suddenly turn into my sweet little loyal dog only when you need something, right?"

---

This is a fan translation of 素世同学，恭喜你被我优化了 by 杰克喵. All rights to the original work belong to the creator. Please support them by exploring their original work or sharing it with others if you can. Thank you for reading and supporting my efforts to bring this story to a wider audience!